Kristen Graham

Inquirer Staff Writer

Kristen Graham has covered the Philadelphia School District since May 2008. A native Philadelphian – and a product of the district and Temple University – she has written about everything from crime and county government to education since joining the Inquirer in 2000. If asked politely, Kristen, who has also spent time as an online producer at Philly.com, will sing as much of “Hail Northeast,” her high school’s alma mater, as she remembers. She comes from a family of teachers and believes there is no more difficult or important job than that of an educator.

Kristen is a Pulitzer Prize winner, part of a team whose "Assault on Learning" series about violence in the Philadelphia schools won the 2012 prize for public service for the Inquirer. During the school year, you’ll frequently find her chatting live on Philly.com about the district. Please do pass along the scoop about what’s going on at your Philadelphia public school; Kristen welcomes tips, story ideas and witty banter at kgraham@phillynews.com or 215-854-5146.

More by Kristen Graham

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has cleared 28 schools and districts in its statewide probe into possible improprieties on the 2009 PSSAs.

No Philadelphia School District schools have been cleared, but the investigation is ongoing, said Tim Eller, a spokesman for the education department. Thirteen city public schools are still under scrutiny for possible cheating.

The district has not named the 13 schools, but an Inquirer analysis identified them as: Roosevelt and Wagner Middle Schools, Strawberry Mansion High School; and Catharine, Cayuga, F.S. Edmonds, Lamberton, John Marshall, Thurgood Marshall, McClure, Munoz-Marin, Olney, and Ziegler Elementaries.

The schools and districts from the region that have been cleared by the state are: Alliance for Progress Charter School, Cheltenham School District, Charter HS for Architecture, Maritime Academy Charter School, Northwood Academy Charter School, Pennsbury School District, Spring-Ford Area School District, Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, William Penn School District, and Wissahickon Charter School.

Here's the full list of schools that have been cleared by the Department of Education: